WHO: Adem Sahin ( @adcmsahin )
WHERE: Black Bart's Cut
"Hi guys!" she says, greeting the group. "I'm so sorry, I'm late. The traffic coming up from San Fran was ridiculous," she explains as she quickly says her hellos and makes her way to the empty seat. Her friend Penny from undergrad loved gathering everyone around for dinner. Granted, those days were spent between The Hole in the Wall, PB's, and the diner. Seemingly, they all upgraded in life and could dine at the nicer spots in town, and with Penny's return came this last-minute dinner with people she's hardly spoken to since they graduated. As she gathered her bearings, taking her seat, Ellie greeted Cindy, a poli-sci major to her left, before locking eyes across the table with her ex. Shit. "Adem."
in the midst of a conversation, rambling on about marine bio-diversity, he almost misses the arrival of someone new. he recognizes her voice before anything else, like a distant memory unfurling, eyes darting up to spot familiar blonde curls and a face he'd done his best to erase but never could. there's the instinct to duck, make himself smaller in the hopes of disappearing amidst their friends, but he fights against it. after all, avoiding her couldn't last forever - even if he's been dragging it out ever since returning to cascade, unsure of how to approach someone who'd once meant the world to him. truly, he ought to have known that this wasn't an innocent get-together, should have remembered penny's tendency to meddle and the way she hadn't quite answered him when he'd asked who was coming. but he'd been caught up in writing a research paper, mind unfocused on her lack of response, and hadn't thought twice about it. so he supposes now has to be as good a time as any, even if he wishes he ( and by the surprise on her features, ellie too ) hadn't stumbled into this blindly. "hey ellie," the nickname slips from his lips before he has the chance to wonder if she should be eleanor to him now. "it's good to see you." it's the truth, even if he wouldn't have chosen this particular moment, even if the words don't feel like nearly enough, but he doesn't know what else to say that wouldn't feel out of place in the midst of everyone else attending.
open starter with @cascadestarters | where: holy sheet | when: a hot summer’s day
lucy stared down at the whirling of her clothes, holding her breath in suspense. she could feel the rapid flutter of her chest, up and down, erratic and nearly on the verge of happy tears to see her spin. “oh my god, it’s working!” she beamed, eyes brightening with hope before she heard the click of the machine in front of her. lucy felt her face fall immediately, melting into an expression that could only be described as defeat. “no, no, no, no…” she stood up straight, fingers curled around the edge of the washing machine. lucy watched as it slowed, her eyes burning with anger as she allowed herself to take action before thinking. with one swift kick, the machine whirled back into action, but lucy nearly fell on her ass. “ouch! fuck!” her knee shot up, hands clinging around her foot as she bounced around for a moment, attempting to stabilize herself. “oh my god, did you see that?! the little shit worked for a whole minute then stopped! and now i’m hurt! i hate this stupid machine!” she huffed. “please tell me you saw that so i don’t look crazy bouncing around like this?!”
he sees the disaster about to commence before he's able to step in and stop it from happening. the first couple times he'd gone to holy sheet, back when he was still in college, back when it only had ten washers and dryers - all ancient and on the verge of malfunctioning on any given day, he'd made similar mistakes, not knowing which ones were finicky and necessary to avoid until some local had taken pity on him. now it seems a bit smaller, with ten new ones squeezed in - ones that anyone who has gone more than a couple times knows to use instead of the ones that were likely older than they were. it's not a surprise when the machine gives out, although the girl's reaction is - eyes widening as she attacks and he's half tempted to retreat and not offer the advice that had been so helpful to him before she starts stumbling. "are you alright?" he's quick to make his way over to her, flinching at the way she grabs her foot and hoping she hasn't broken anything. although her jumbled reply sounds coherent enough, words spilling over themselves in a way that he doubts she'd be able to muster if he needed to call a doctor. "i... i did see it. honestly, i'm surprised you got it working. that's one of the old ones - they're... temperamental at best. but they have put in ten new ones - those shiny ones over there. you might have to wait a bit before using them when it gets busy in here, but at least you're not risking breaking your foot."
with: open, feel free to assume connections! ( @cascadestarters )
where: the side of the road, somewhere between neighborhoods
some days, the truck just wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. and today, linus is becoming increasingly aware, is one of those days. pleads for it to at least crap out somewhere populated fall on deaf ears, with the engine making a concerning enough noise to finally make him pull over. fantastic. amazing. mutters something about a "fucking stupid, useless, hunk of junk" as he climbs out of the truck and pops the hood. as if he has any idea what he's looking at — it all just looks like engine to him. he fiddles with anything that looks like it might move, trying to look like he knows what he's doing for an audience of... well, no one. great. he steps back and kicks the front tire. hard. looking up from the innards of the truck, he sees a car approaching in the distance. would it be cliché to stand on the side of the road with his thumb out like a hitchhiker? he does it anyway, squinting at the approaching vehicle and gesturing to his broken down truck once it got close enough for it's occupants to see him clearly.
it's not that he hates driving, there are days where he doesn't mind it - with windows rolled down, the breeze whistling through the car while he sinks into his thoughts. there are others when adem wishes he could just walk, feel the earth beneath his feet and the sun against his skin. at the moment it's not too bad, his fingers drumming to the beat of the song playing on the radio and his gaze focused on the road stretching on before him, until the slight snag of something that's not supposed to be there registers. it takes him just a moment to identify a truck, another to notice the person beside it - thumb stretched out and a hopeful expression on his features. he's typically wary of strangers, slow to greet, slow to get to know. but he knows his conscience wouldn't let him pass by knowing that he'd left someone in need out on the road alone. with spotty connection in this part of town and not many people on the road - who knows how long it might be before someone else took pity on them? so he pulls up alongside them anyways. "hey, you need a ride back into town?" his eyebrows crease as he steps out to consider the truck, old and run down - but while he could tell you all the internal workings of starfish or octopi and might even be able to change a tire if need be - the various parts and mechanisms of an engine are a mystery to him. "i'd offer to help you fix it up, but i think this is a bit beyond what i know about cars."
with: anyone! / @cascadestarters
location: false cascade trails
when: a sunday, early afternoon
"Cujo!" His windbreaker swished with his every step, taking long strides along the trail as he tried to catch up with his dog. Well, not his dog. Technically, Cujo belonged to his dad, which felt like a cruel punchline after surviving a childhood where he wasn't allowed so much as a goldfish. He'd gotten the beagle almost five years ago, but Cujo had somehow retained his too-big paws and floppy ears, making him that much harder to ever say 'no' to. After slipping his collar and extending this hike an extra twenty minutes? Scott didn't think those literal puppy dog eyes would be working on him for a long while. He sighed, squinting up at the sky that'd gone gray, a fine mist of rain just starting. "Cujo, where you at, boy!"
he'd heard the excited yips of cujo before even seeing him, a fond smile crossing his features as the small dog came running up to him, ears flopping and tongue wagging. it didn't register until he was already on his knees, fingers scratching behind his ears in greeting, that his owner was missing, no sign of scott alongside his supposedly faithful companion - although, as the fog settled along the tree-line, he could hear faint yelling. "guess you got a bit too enthusiastic, didn't you?" his eyes rolled fondly, head shaking in amusement as he led the dog towards what he hoped was scott's voice - not wanting to extend his worry any more. it didn't take long until the other man came into view, his own concern eased as cujo bolted back towards scott as if he'd never abandoned him in the first place. "i swear i had no intentions of dognapping - he just came barreling up to me."
ADEM ŞAHIN. 30 YEARS OLD. CIS MAN. HE/HIM is here! They’ve lived in Cascade for 13 YEARS (on and off) and currently reside in TULE BAY. ADEM is a MARINE BIOLOGIST & CONSERVATIONIST and frequently hears that they look a lot like DENIZ CAN AKTAŞ. Funny, huh? If ever caught by Letterboxd, they’d say FINDING NEMO is in their Top 4 and the theme song to their life’s soundtrack would be ENDS OF THE EARTH by LORD HURON.
✦ ⸻ BASICS.
full name: adem emir şahin
nickname: tba
age/date of birth: 30 / september 28th
zodiac sign: libra
gender identity: cis man (he/him)
hometown: syracuse, ny
current location: cascade, ca
time in town: 13 years
sexual orientation: heterosexual
religion: lapsed muslim ( more agnostic than anything else )
occupation: marine biologist & conservationist
✦ ⸻ PERSONALITY.
labels: the academic , the aquaphile , the enigma
positive traits: loyal , persistent , inquisitive , reliable , sincere
negative traits: cautious , judgmental , defiant , aloof , rigid
hobbies: reading , teaching ( he runs an after-school program for kids interested in marine life ) , soccer , hiking , cooking ( he's been experimenting and trying to bring more into his diet than microwaved meals ever since college )
languages spoken: english , turkish , french ( conversational ) , arabic ( minimal )
instruments played: piano
favorite color: truly any shade of blue, but in particular, cerulean
✦ ⸻ BIOGRAPHY.
trigger warning; mild mention of miscarriage and trouble conceiving
he was born early, quiet and still, a september baby when his parents weren't expecting him until the end of october, but a welcome miracle all the same when they'd been trying for so long to have a child. he sometimes wonders about those children that never were, who they might've become, if they would have been a better son or daughter than he turned out to be.
his quiet disposition followed him around like a shadow throughout his childhood, never feeling quite like he fit in despite everything his parents did to try and bridge the gap between their own culture and where they lived. but it was difficult when they were still learning to adapt themselves, their own family still in türkiye, and their roots not fully fledged.
he learned to find his own contentment, head stuck in a book - both fiction and non-fiction alike showing him more perspectives and worlds than he had thought able to exist. always on top of his studies, adem excelled academically, and with the push of some friends he took up soccer, finding within the team a family not forged by blood.
landlocked, he can still remember the first time his family took a vacation to the beach and he felt like he belonged. the wide stretch of water and open horizon calling to him as if offering up endless possibilities. the trip to the aquarium during it unlocking a fascination within him that would turn out shaping his trajectory.
torn between different colleges on the west coast, he eventually settled on the university of cascade - both because of it's proximity to the ocean, the full-ride scholarship he received, and how unique the city itself was. there would be no fear of fitting in when the town itself seemed to embrace the out-of-the ordinary and unique, even if adem wasn't sure if he believed in all of the local folktales.
cascade might have been the first place he felt truly at home, both in himself and with the people around him. a strange feeling to hold when he still missed his family and wasn't quite used to having them be a plane ride away. but studying what he loved, and seeing a future in doing that was everything - boosting his confidence and his certainty in himself, making him feel like a full-person rather than just a person who was trying desperately to figure himself out.
after college came graduate school, and while he tried something different, the sunny shores of la jolla and san diego this time around, he couldn't quiet stall the longing for the place he'd felt at home, and shortly after finishing his degree, he moved back to cascade, set on continuing the work he loved in the place that had welcomed him with open arms.
✦ ⸻ CONNECTIONS.
relationship status: single.
current partners(s): none.
past relationships / flings: tba.
family: mother ( yasmin şahin ) . father ( ömer şahin ) . younger sibling
roommates: none
✦ ⸻ WANTED ( work in progress )
the best friend: a confidant and platonic soulmate, someone who's there for every high and low and everything in between.
first love/ former relationship: adem is a romantic at heart, but wasn't as sure of himself in high school to form a relationship with someone. i imagine this might have been someone he dated in college ( either while he was in cascade or doing his graduate degree at ucsd ) but details are open to plotting !
work connection: someone who works in the same field or has a similar vein of interest, adem loves talking and sharing what he does for work - but also knows it's the one topic he could ramble on forever - which might annoy anyone who isn't as passionate about it as he is.
off-the-grid: they both get overwhelmed by all the noise sometimes and find a shared love for disconnecting from time to time, be it for a hike or a swim or a game of soccer, they turn off their phones and live in the peace of no notifications for an hour or two.
skeptic & believer: open to anyone who's a fan of cascade folklore, adem's a bit of a skeptic about everything supernatural and rolls his eyes when people try and claim that the devil's mouth is a gateway to hell, but he's amused by it all the same, and maybe there's someone intent on converting him to believing just a little bit more than he did before.
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